Saturday, May 16, 2015

Want to get elected, especially to a national office? It
seems that all you have to do is to “out-Israel” your opponent. Sell out the Palestinians. Never try to be neutral
or talk about the facts on the ground. Forget
being fair and ignore such things as murder, torture and terrorizing innocent
kids. It will not be enough to refrain from criticizing Israel, you have to be pro-Israel, no matter
what Israel does, even if Israel’s
actions put Americans at risk or gets them killed, you have to “out-Israel” all
your opponents.

Of course, those running against you know that they have to “out-Israel”
you. But, there is no limit to how “Israel” you can
be. Never mind that Israel has
become a paranoid nation. Never mind the unbelievable massacres unleashed on
the people of Gaza
over the past decade, and the thousands of Palestinians, including children,
who have been put in prison without charge. Never mind the children who have
been abused, the thousands of homes demolished, the trees uprooted, the water
and property stolen. Just declare Israel
a democracy with whom we share moral and pious values. Such is the approved program for the day and
our politicians have caught on.

Allison Deger writes:

Carly Fiorina promises to make Israel her
first phone call as president. Mike Huckabee is “just nuts” about Israel. Jeb
Bush calls settlements “apartments.” Ben Carson wants to transfer the
Palestinians to Egypt.
Marco Rubio has taken to dining with top-donor Sheldon Adelson. Ted Cruz is
making the rounds with Fire Island’s
pro-Israel community. And, Lindsey Graham who
has not announced his bid, said if he is president he will have the
first “all-Jewish” cabinet.[1]

Mike Huckabee
said on his campaign website, “In a world of uncertainty, evil, and moral
insanity, Israel
is a shining light of moral clarity. The enemies of Israel
are the enemies of America…
There is no Christian faith without a Jewish state”[2]

He just wiped out the faith of millions of Christians including
Saint Frances, Martin Luther and Dietrich Bonhoeffer. But, he knows the mind of
God and according to him, God wants those Palestinians out of there. And how does Huckabee know this? Because a Jewish scribe heard a voice that
only Jews could understand and wrote that a Jewish god, named Yehweh, said that
the non-Jews had no value, and that he wanted the Jews, and no one else, to have
the land of Palestine, now and forever.
How about that? And because Huckabee knows all this, anything the state
of Israel
does to the Palestinians is OK. It’s all
about what God’s wants. Huckabee believes that the Jewish people have God’s
blessings upon acts of immorality and injustice against a weaker people,
including terrorism, ethnic cleansing, occupation, oppression, and torture. All of them are acceptable because the Jews of
Israel are doing them.

Ted Cruz, got a
30-second ovation at LibertyUniversity when he said, “Instead of a president who
boycotts Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, imagine a president who stands unapologetically
with the nation of Israel.”

Cruz, the tea party icon became angry and walked off the
stage in the middle of a speech hosted by a Christian organization because they
did not see Israel
through the same narrow blinders that
limit his vision.

I will say this: “If you will not
stand with Israel
and the Jews, then I will not stand with you. Thank you and God bless you,” he
said walking off the stage…”Anti-Semitism is a corrosive evil, and it reared
its ugly head tonight.[3]

Marco Rubio in a
speech to Congress said, “How much better would the middle east be if more
countries looked like Israel
and less like Iraq and Syria.” Rubio’s
biggest backer, Norman Braman is said to have committed at least $10 million to
the campaign, says, “U.S.
must be a ‘global military power’ so that we can sustain Israel.” He did
not say to sustain the security and safety
of America, but, so we can
sustain Israel.”[4]

Ben Carson,
advocates transferring all Palestinians to the Sinai desert and then taking
over their property. He claims that the criticism of the settlements “has been
exaggerated,” and that Palestinian hostility toward Israel is what is preventing peace.
The Guardian reports him as saying, “I would make sure that Israel knew
that we had their back. Because if their neighbors know that we’re backing them
up, they’re not going to be anywhere near as aggressive.”[5]

Carla Fiorina
states, “This administration has made the world a more dangerous place by the
way they have treated Israel” She said this with a straight face as her former company,
Hewlett-Packard, makes money off of the occupation of Palestinian lands.[6]

Rand Paul vows
“that any attack on Israel
will be as an attack on the United
States.”[7]

These kind of comments are not “slip ups” heard only when
the mike is “left on” by mistake. They are main line headlines for our
politicians. It has been said that Benjamin Netanyahu has become the leader of
the GOP and support for his militaristic policies has become a Republican
litmus test.

Want to get elected? Then cheer the Prime Minister of Israel
and swear loyalty to his state. Vote for everything he demands. Of course, doing so will probably get the US engaged in
another war with yet another Muslim nation. Never mind that following his
leadership has given birth to Islamic Jihad and ISIS. He is to be hailed and
heeded. Want to be elected, then puff Israel. It’s the only way.

Even though support for Israel has become the Republican
party line, it is not limited to Republicans. I wish it were. Peter Beinart
calls Hillary Clinton, “Israel’s new lawyer. Haim Saban, Israel’s
Channel One’s interviewer said of
Hillary Clinton, “Everything that she thinks and everything she has done and
will do will always be for the good of Israel.[8]

Because she is so eager to see the world through the eyes of
Benjamin Netanyahu, she blames Hamas for all conflicts between Israel and Gaza.
“Hamas just wanted to pile up dead
civilians for the cameras… the Palestinians stage-manage civilian deaths to win
the sympathy of an anti-Semitic world.”[9]

You start a war with Hamas with a
lie about the murder of three Israeli teenagers. You fought the war with
exceptional brutality, killing hundreds of children and civilians, leveling
whole streets and bombarding hospitals and United Nations shelters with
indiscriminate artillery fire…and when world opinion turns against you, what do
you do? You turn to Hillary Clinton.[10] “If I were the Prime Minister of Israel,
you’re damn right,” she says. “I would expect to have security.”

Peter Beinart says in Haaretz: “Clinton
offered the most articulate sophisticated, passionate defense of Netanyahu’s
conduct I’ve heard from a government official on either side of the Atlantic. Unfortunately, important chunks of it aren’t true.”[11]

It might be easier and surely would save a lot of money if
we would skip the primaries. In fact, we
might just skip the election altogether and just ask Benjamin Netanyahu who he wants
in the White House to jump through his hoops. Why not just ask him to appoint
the next President of the United
States. What do you think?

Thomas Are

May 16, 2015

[1] Allison
Deger, As Presidential Field Broadens, GOP candidates Race to Show Their Love
for Israel,
Mondoweiss, May 7, 2015.

Sunday, May 10, 2015

The meeting was over.
We had just heard a talk by a Palestinian activist sharing what his life
is like under military occupation. As we stood to leave, a man in front of me,
his name tag read, “Ben,” turned around
and said, “It’s discouraging. But, what can I do? I guess the best thing is to
just pray.”

Here are a few suggestions for Ben:

1 – BUMPER STICKERS

Some say, “I don’t want to use my car to make a political
statement.” I say, Why not? If we believe in something, a bumper sticker
is an easy way to show our solidarity with the suffering people of Palestine and stand up
for peace and justice. I have had a FREE
PALESTINE sticker on my car for 15 years and I remember getting the ‘finger”
only once. On the other hand, it has been a great conversation starter.

I returned to my car, parked on a city side street, and
there stood a woman staring at my bumper.
O Boy, I thought, now I am going to get my head knocked off.

“Is this
your car?” she asked,

“Yes.”

“I agree.” And, she said, “I am
Jewish. I feel lonely at my
synagogue. It feels good to know that I
am not alone.”

From bushy bearded motorcycle riders to totally covered
Muslim ladies, I have received expression of appreciation from those who do not
want to feel alone. All a bumper sticker
does is show solidarity, but how valuable that is.[1]

2 – LISTEN AND
CONFRONT

While sitting at a table for ten in a restaurant, a man I
hardy knew, said something about the stupid Palestinians firing rockets. He was too far away to engage in a
conversation without turning the dinner party into a shouting match, so, I made
a face as though I had been whiffed by a smell from a sewer. He got
my message and I could only hope it made him uncomfortable.

Under different circumstances, we might see it as an
opportunity to say something like, “I used to think that way. But, then I read
Elias Chacour’s book, BLOOD BROTHERS and it pointed out another way.” There are
many books, many by Jewish authors, which have helped me to better understand
that situation and my part in it. [2]

3 – FLAG

On May 15, Nakba Day, and March 16th, the
anniversary of the crushing of Rachael Corrie, people walking by will see a Palestinian flag
flying in front of our house. It is a
small way to show solidarity with those oppressed by Israel’s occupation and has led to
meeting several like minded friends.

4 – JEWISH VOICE for
PEACE

Ben could also send $100 to Jewish Voice for Peace,[3] This is a nation wide organization of Jews committed
to the ethical teaching of their scriptures, such as Jeremiah, Isaiah and the
Psalms. At great rick of being isolated from family, friends and religious
community, they live out the historical mandate of their faith by marching,
demonstrating and teaching justice for all, especially those oppressed by
religion, racism or pariah nations.

Jewish Voice for Peace is growing in number and
influence. Anyone experiencing
discrimination will have a friend in JVP.

5 – BDS

Ben could join
hundreds of thousands of world wide supporters of BDS, (Boycott, Divestment and
Sanctions), a call from Palestinian civil and religious leaders to pressure Israel to end the occupation. Sanctions are the
actions of governments. Divestments are the actions of corporations. But,
individuals, like Ben, can boycott those companies that profit from the
occupation, such as Caterpillar, Hewlett Packard, and any business that sells
soda stream, to name a few.[4]

6 – WRITE LETTERS

Letters to the Editor on the Israel/Palestine crisis seldom
get published, but every now and then, one will get through. At least, they are read by the editor.

I often write letters to my elected officials which I am
convinced are never read. I get back a form letter addressing none of my
concerns. But, who knows. If our representatives in Congress got ten letters
from ten different people expressing concern over the same issue, it might get
mentioned at their staff meeting. Every little
bit of awareness might help. At least,
it helps me to write them.

7 – READ AND
RECOMMEND BOOKS

There are a hundred books out there addressing Israel’s brutal
oppression of the Palestinians. Ben
could read any one of them and be motivated to take a little risk and share it
with a friend. We do not get an honest
representation of what is happening from our media, our politicians or even
from out pulpits. Our best resource for
accurate reporting can be found in books and in the social media. A great place to start is with the Website Mondoweiss.

8 – Then Ben could pray.
But unless he, and all of us, do the kind of things listed above, it
will do little good to pray.

I understand that Ben is discouraged. I want to say, That is
OK. Go ahead and be discouraged, even
get depressed and feel like quitting. It's a normal part of working for justice for any cause. Take off a day, or two, even let it go for a week. But, then get back up, dust yourself off, and
get right back in the fight.

Thomas Are

May 10, 2015

[1] FREE
PALESTINE bumper stickers may be purchased for $2 from the Palestine Online
Store, a not-for-profit that has been promoting Palestine products since 2005.

Saturday, May 2, 2015

Did you see it in the news?
ABC reported that Israelretaliated against a rocket fired
from Gaza. One
crude, unguided, homemade rocket landed in an open field in the southern part
of Israel,
causing no injury to anyone or damage to any structure. However, the news was of
“Israel’s
retaliation.”

The news faithfully reports the violence, yet seldom
mentions the cause of that violence. It is presented as authorities
controlling riots. These authorities, however, are occupying someone else’s land, fighting to
seize more land and water that does not belong to them. How can it be
retaliation when Israel
is the aggressor?

Hanon Ashrawi comments:

It is not presented as an army
using its arsenal against young people who are largely unarmed, who are
besieged, who are protesting because of the occupation against the total
oppression of their whole nation… Israel
is the aggressor, killing people in their own homes on their own land, yet it
is presented as though the Palestinians attacked Israel which is now simply
“retaliating.”[i]

According to: Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, Only 4% of
Network Reports even mention the word “occupation.”

Neither the Associated Press, nor ABC News, included in
their story of “Israel’s retaliation” the context of that rocket, the one and
only rocket fired at Israel from Gaza this year.”[ii] At the same time, unreported in the mainstream media during that
same time:

In the three months January-March,
there were six military incursions - when Israeli forces invaded the Gaza Strip
then withdrew – and 67 shooting attacks on land and at sea.[iii]

According to our news media, attacks on Palestinians are
normal, certainly not news worthy. It is
only when someone from the occupied territories fires back that it merits a
story. As long as no Israeli is forced
to duck, it is seen as a time of “calm” no matter how many Palestinians become
victims of Israel’s
aggression. “Israeli forces injured
dozens of Palestinians and foreign activist on April 3rd using live fire to suppress
weekly marches in West Bank…another
Palestinian was injured and dozens more suffered excessive tear gas inhalation
during clashes with Israeli forces at the weekly march at Bil’in.”[iv]
No headlines in my paper.

On April 2nd, Israeli soldiers arrested Palestinian
parliamentarian, Khalida Jarrar for “unspecified reasons.” She joined 16 other Palestinian lawmakers
currently serving time in Israeli prisons.[v]

The next week, April 10th,
a Palestinian man was shot and killed by Israeli forces at the funeral
of his cousin who had died from unattended medical complications while in an
Israeli prison. Thirteen others attending
the same funeral were injured by live ammunition and rubber coated bullets.[vi]

The following Thursday, two Palestinians were shot and injured
when Israeli soldiers raided their refugee camp.

The next day, Israeli soldiers attacked the weekly protest
against the illegal wall and settlements near Ramallah, wounding five,
including two by live ammunition.

Settlers attacked Palestinian shepherds, forcing them at
gunpoint to go into their homes. Israeli forces arrived and arrested the shepherds.

Back in March, Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian
fisherman.[vii]

At least 30 children across the West Bank
sustained gunshot wounds when Israeli forces used live ammunition to quash
protest during the first three months of 2015.

In summary: Since
2000, Israeli security forces have killed over 8,896 Palestinians. At least
1,900 of those have been children.[viii]

A report from the United Nations Office for the Coordination
of Humanitarian Affairs in the OccupiedPalestinianTerritory
found that, overall, Israel
was responsible for 2,314 Palestinian deaths and 17,125 injuries last calendar year...Defense
for Children International – Palestine
has documented abuse and torture that Palestinian children endure in Israeli
prisons, where they are denied due process.[ix]

Today, there are nearly 6,500
Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli jails; 500 of them held under
administrative detention without charge or trial. There are 200 child
prisoners, 24 women prisoners, and 14 members of the Palestinian Legislative
Council behind bars… There are 1500 sick prisoners including 16 severely ill in
the Ramle prison clinic, 24 with cancer and 80 with severe illnesses.[x]

Yet compared to a small rocket fired into a field in Israel, none of
this merits attention in our news media. I can only imagine the coverage if
this were violence against Jews?

Thomas L. Are

I preached for forty three years in the Presbyterian Church before retiring. If anyone would ever refer to me as a Liberation Theologian, I would be pleased. I started blogging several years ago to express my political and religious concern for justice, especially justice for the Palestinians.